Takashi Ikeda

In what I have to wonder is a move to boost sales, this volume of the women-loving-women anthology really pumps up the erotica quotient, and just like that it's less interesting again after the improvement I saw in the last volume.

I have one more on hand from the library, so I'll press on for now.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Inari's Marriage / Hachi Ito -- The First Night Aftermath / Subaru Homura -- I Want to Get Dizzy with You / Izumi Kawanami -- Her Ring / Shimako Chiruda -- Night of the Loser Virgins / Yu Yoshidamaru -- Spare Key / Kiyoko Iwami -- At the Summer Retreat / Takashi keda -- Private Consideration / Jiang Sal -- A Story of the First and Last Night / Canno -- If It's You, Anything Goes / Milk Morinaga… (meer)

The second volume of this women-loving-women anthology takes a step up in quality for its second outing even as the theme of taboo relationships brings in a few yucky tales with pedophiles and stalkers. There's a bit too much infidelity for my taste, but enough of the stories were twisty or humorous enough to earn the collection a thumbs up.

The stand-out story is "Swallowtail Takes Flight," a fantasy piece about a wasp and a caterpillar. "That's What She Wants" and "A Passion for Your Work" were well done tales about affairs and manipulation.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Call of the Mayflies / Izumi Kawanami -- Photography Addiction / Goumoto -- That Girl in the Library / Megumi Tsuji -- That's What She Wants / Canno -- A Passion for Your Work / Shuninta Amano -- The Left Leg Shackle / Hachi Ito -- My Little Sister's Ice Cream / Mako Takahashi -- The Fourth Woman / Natsumi Matsuzaki -- Swallowtail Takes Flight / Yu Yoshidamaru -- Slit / Takashi Ikeda -- At What Point? / Milk Morinaga… (meer)

I was charmed by the little slice-of-life vignettes about two women who are two-years into their romantic relationship and a year into living together. One is 22 and the other 32, so they have little age gap frictions once in a while, but generally the tone is light and giddy as they are very deeply in love.

Some romantic rivals are hinted at and some family history foreshadowed, but the book is generally drama free. The humor is fairly reserved too, so unless you like seeing a couple lovebirds cuddling, you might not get much out of it.… (meer)